Aug 1, 2008

"The World Beach Project" is a global art project devised by Sue Lawty in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Open to anybody, anywhere, of any age and based on the experience many of us have of making patterns on beaches and shorelines, the project combines the simplicity of making patterns with stones with the complexities of shape, size, colour, tone, composition, similarity and difference.

There is a catch, though: the design can't use shells, seaweed or driftwood; just stones. If you want to participate you have to take at least three pictures, one of the whole beach, one of the process and one of the artwork.

So far most of the entries are not extremely creative. Lot of hearts, spirals, circles and peace symbols. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the challenge is easy, not at all.

Nevertheless, you can tell that some put more thought and effort than others. Here you can see some of the ones that caught my eye:

"Oakura" by Jerry Morris

Linda Smith at Praia Formosa Madeira

Chris Dunseath at Appledore, Devon

By Mikhail Balasyuk at Owen beach

By Sue Lawty on a south Devon beach

By Phil Entwistle at Danes Dyke, Bridlington

Jenny Hoeppner at Joemma beach state park

Derek, Patricia and Olivia Masetti-Nolan at Seapoint, Monkstown, County Dublin

The weekend is coming and we are in Summer. So take your chances, go to the beach and see what you can do. If nothing else, it is a good challenge for your creativity. And if you don't like what you come up with, there is no need to send your pictures, but if you like the final result, you may have your artwork displayed at A&V's website.

If you just want to see what others have done, here is a direct link to the gallery, but let me warn you, you will need patience because the site is pretty slow. It may be a better use of your time to just go to your local beach and start designing!